Digital Foundry: Fast RMX showcases Switch's technological leap over Wii U

DF: "Since we first went hands-on with the games, the question we've had here at Digital Foundry is pretty straightforward: just how much of a technological leap does Switch actually represent over Wii U?"

[gedden7]

I bet all the Nintendo haters will just pass this article right on by..... Smh.

[vikingland1]

Probably true , but I can guarantee the spammers will be here.

Good to know that It's the best looking hand held racer ever and it plays great too.

[Gazondaily]

They're probably waiting for the next Zelda overhype bullshit article so they can prop another game over it

[DarthZoolu]

How excited are you?

[girevik]

Yeah it's taboo to say anything good about Nintendo

[subtenko]

Im not a nintendo hater I just dont like them anymore. I came by cause the screenshot looked interesting but when I saw the gameplay I said f that.

When they slowed the clips down it did remind me of playing asphalt gt on the DS. Thnx for the nostalgia.

[ABizzel1]

Not that I'm hating on the Switch, but everything in this video once again confirms that the Switch is simply a Wii U 1.5 stuffed into a tablet, which isn't a bad thing IMO, but definitely not what people were expecting when Nintendo and fans kept saying Switch / NX was a console first and foremost.

As I logically assumed the Switch version runs at 720p in handheld mode and that makes sense considering that's the resolution of the handheld's screen (meanwhile many of the diehards were claiming it runs 1080p both docked and handheld). And at that point we're once again right back on par with the Wii U versions except the Switch version still has its enhancements that you'd come to expect from a GPU that's a bit more powerful. The reworked lighting, effects, and resolution turn what was already a good looking Wii U game into a great looking Switch game.

But the problem is all closed track racers have looked good and aimed for 60fps since Gran Turismo HD Concept back in 2006, and even then it's not leagues above the Wii U version graphically besides the enhanced lighting.

All this does is once again place the Switch as slightly more powerful than the Wii U in handheld mode, and about 50% more powerful when docked as the logical, and tech informed people on here have been saying for the longest now.

There's nothing wrong with you liking the Switch, and I agree Fast RMX is the best looking mobile / handheld game I've probably seen, unless you exclude mobile devices that like laptops, gaming tablets, or mobile handheld PC hardware, in which case it's probably the best looking mobile / handheld game I've seen on $300 hardware "that's currently on store shelves".

There's also nothing wrong with people not liking or wanting a Switch because they wanted a pure Nintendo console.

And there's also nothing wrong with people like myself who see the potential in the system, who realize the limits of the hardware, and plan on getting one when there is more software available and/or a price drop on the hardware.

And if people come in trolling about it being a weak console in 2017, then so be it. For console standards it is weak, there's no getting around that. For a 2017 handheld it's one of the best. Enjoy your Switch, but don't hype it up to be something it's not. In handheld mode it's a the top-end of last-gen consoles, when docked it's a step up from last-gen devices hardware wise, and when compared to the XBO it's 2 - 3 steps behind.

[girevik]

I agree with most of what you've said except I think it's barely below the XBO. XBO is 1.3 Tera flops and switch is 1 which is not bad. So it's about a Wii U less powerful than XBO. Not bad for what it is.

[ABizzel1]

@girevik

The Switch is not 1 TFLOP.

The Tegra X1 GPU is 1 TFLOP in Floating Point 16, and only 512 GFLOPS in Floating Point 32.

FP 32 is the gaming benchmark used, to measure gaming performance between difference GPUs of the same line.

The original XBO is 1310 GFLOPS in FP 32, and the original PS4 is 1840 GFLOPS in FP 32.

The base XBO is 2.5x more powerful than the Tegra X1 at it's max performance, but the Switch version of the X1 is underclocked when docked and severely underclocked in handheld mode making the XBO easily 3x more powerful than the Switch docked and about 6x more powerful in handheld mode.

The Switch is in the same ballpark as the PS360Wii U in handheld mode, with an arguably worse CPU, but 8x the RAM of the PS360 (2x the Wii U), and a GPU that's almost 2x as powerful as the PS360 when docked.

[girevik]

Is it confirmed to be an X1? I thought it was a new tegra or highly modified X1. A link would be most appreciated.

[ABizzel1]

@girevik

ARM oopsed and confirmed it.
http://www.nintendolife.com...

Digital Foundry leaked it
http://www.eurogamer.net/ar...

All but the exact details of the GPU has been confirmed due to hardware teardowns
http://www.nintendolife.com...
The 4 ARM cores confirmed
The 4GB of RAM at 25.6GB/s confirmed
As well as everything else
The GPU is using the same serial code as the Tegra X1 in the current NVIDIA Shield console, and match up identically. The only confirmation we're waiting on at this point are the clock speeds digital foundry released.
http://imgur.com/uLF2CUq

And while wiki is a significantly less reliable resource (even though they're used by most people), the Tegra X2/P1 is confirmed to be using Denver as the CPU, and NVIDIA is waiting for the new ARM chips to provide more performance at a lower TDP to balance the chip out.

[BlacKJesu5]

I'm fair in my hate...but please stop hyping this up..please its wipeout 2017 and a very demanding game for a tablet

[Genuine-User]

Looks quite good. I'm not into racing games but I might just get this as soon as it goes on sale.

[Damd_Bowsr]

On Sale??? Its only $20...... That sale price already

[Genuine-User]

It costs £16.99 in the eShop.

That's not what I usually pay for most digital games, especially one from a genre I'm not particularly into.

[Damd_Bowsr]

I can understand that, however rest assured, its a great game your money wont go to waste in my humble opinion.

[Munnkyman]

I really like this game on the Wii u. I hope Nintendo gets these guys to f-zero

[Damd_Bowsr]

Hand them the keys and the budget and let F-Zero live.

[ABizzel1]

They've should of done that YEARS ago. I doubt it'll happen, but at least there's something similar.

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

They said they wouldn't mind doing if Nintendo give it them but they won't ask to do it.

[Cobra951]

This review may be the best endorsement for the Switch yet. It proves the system is capable of good visuals and performance, particularly as a portable (where it clearly is in a class by itself).

Also, that reveal of a problem in the system firmware sapping some GPU power is important to know. Once they fix that, games will perform better in general.

[ABizzel1]

I agree it's the best looking Switch game, but there are several other portable devices that compare and outperform the Switch it's just that since they don't have the Nintendo, PlayStation, or Xbox logo on it "gamers" have no clue or desire to invest in them.

[conanlifts]

? Which device is that. Even digital foundry have labelled switch the most powerful handheld ever made so i am curious which portable is more powerful.

[ABizzel1]

@sd11

That's because they were most powerful handheld, which in the traditional sense is only Nintendo and Sony (who are probably done). I said other portable devices which means other tablets, smaller 2:1 laptops, and other handheld-like devices.

Pretty much any Windows tablets or 2-in-1 laptop can be considered a portable device, and most of those devices with a Skylake CPU has access to an integrated graphics processor that's on par with Tegra X1 at it's max performance. The higher end of that spectrum is floating around with 940m GPU in them and $500. The direct competitor to the Switch is an upgradeable handheld PC called Smach Z
https://www.youtube.com/res...

There are plenty of devices out there, but again no one looks for them, because there isn't a PlayStation, Nintendo, or Xbox logo on them.

[Gemmol]

smachz and whatever else you posted is not stronger than the Switch,

[conanlifts]

I agree 2 in 1 laptops etc well be more powerful. But if Nintendo sold switch for the same price they could also add more power. In many ways it is a shame they didnt offer a more powerful xl version at launch.
As for the smach z, it has my interest as a pc gamer. I am not convinced yet that it is more powerful judging from the game benchmarks listed in the final hardware scores. It has skyrim as 25fps running at 720p. This will be an interesting comparison later in the year.

[_-EDMIX-_]

??? A Wii u game?

Ummmmm ok bud.

[Ol_Boy]

This game is impressive. I'm a big Wipeout fan .

[Segata]

The game is more F-Zero than Wipeout. No weapons in this game.

[sal77]

3rd best game on the Switch

[deafdani]

I'll bite. What's the second? Everyone knows Zelda is #1.

Snipperclips?

[davand114]

Shovel Knight?

[sal77]

Shovel Knight

[deafdani]

Oh, of course. Shovel Knight is fantastic. So much, in fact, I bought it twice (3DS and Wii U).

Also got the Amiibo. And I'm seriously considering triple-dipping on Switch. Lol.

[subtenko]

WTF...... I dont like how this racer looks. It looks too narrow especially when boosting. You see the track regularly when braking when a bank appears but it just looks too crazy (in a bad way)

[Segata]

It plays not that different from FX aside from the color change mechanic. Fast as hell and challenging. What makes it fun.

[Segata]

Oops I mean GX

[subtenko]

Fast is fun but not where it looks like youre whole screen is stretched. Theres some other racers out there that are fast and you can still see the track without the screen being stretched.

[Segata]

Fun fact the announcer in RMX and Neo is the same from F-Zero GX.

[V0LT]

It's really fun and fast... GOod buy for $20

[DivineAssault]

Well, i really hope nintendo can give that team the resources needed for us to get a true sequel to F Zero...

[davand114]

Damn Shin'en is so good at making beautiful games that are really fun to play.

[captainexplosion]

Does the Wii U version have online? If so, I would choose that version.

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

Yes but it's pretty much dead. Hard to find people.

[Bronxs15]

This totally kills fora horizon 3. I'm gonna trade it in for credit to get this game